U.S. patent number 7,007,853 [Application Number 11/146,552] was granted by the patent office on 2006-03-07 for gift card assembly and method.
Invention is credited to Suzanne D. Corcoran, Brian D. Gallagher, Daniel A. Hincks.
United States Patent |
7,007,853 |
Corcoran , et al. |
March 7, 2006 |
Gift card assembly and method
Abstract
A gift card system includes a gift card imprinted with indicia
identifying the issuer, an adhesively coated security label
permanently adhered to the card and imprinted on one surface with
the value of the gift, and a gift record for recording information
concerning the gift including the date of issuance and the value
thereof. A recording sheet providing the gift record and the
opposite surface of the substrate and the face of the recording
sheet have cooperating interactive coatings thereon to imprint the
recording sheet. A second security label is substantially
permanently adhered on the first security label and imprinted with
a reduced value to reflect a partial charge against the value on
the first mentioned security label.
Inventors: |
Corcoran; Suzanne D. (West
Hartford, CT), Gallagher; Brian D. (Simsbury, CT),
Hincks; Daniel A. (Burlington, CT) |
Family
ID: |
35135453 |
Appl.
No.: |
11/146,552 |
Filed: |
June 6, 2005 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20050236472 A1 |
Oct 27, 2005 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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10830801 |
Apr 23, 2004 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
235/487;
283/67 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B42D
15/0053 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06K
19/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;235/487 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Le; Thien M.
Assistant Examiner: Walsh; Daniel
Parent Case Text
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 10/830,801 filed Apr. 23, 2004.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method for the issuance of gift cards comprising the steps of:
a) providing a gift card imprinted with indicia identifying the
issuer; b) manually imprinting on a first surface of a security
label a security label number, the name of the recipient of the
gift card, and the value of the gift; c) adhering the other surface
of said security label on said gift card; and d) manually
imprinting on a gift register the date of issuance, the security
label number and the value of the gift.
2. The method for the issuance of gift cards in accordance with
claim 1 wherein a multiplicity of said security labels have the
other surface releasably adhered upon one surface of a substrate
and wherein the security label is removed from said substrate and
placed upon said gift card.
3. The method for the issuance of gift cards in accordance with
claim 2 wherein said gift register is a recording sheet disposed
behind said substrate and upon which are imprinted the indicia
being entered on said security label.
4. The method for the issuance of gift cards in accordance with
claim 3 wherein the opposite surface of said substrate and the face
of said record sheet have cooperative interactive coatings thereon
to effect said imprinting of said recording sheet.
5. The method for the issuance of gift cards in accordance with
claim 1 wherein said security label also has security indicia
imprinted thereon.
6. A method for the issuance of gift cards comprising the steps of:
a) providing a gift card imprinted with indicia identifying the
issuer; b) manually imprinting on a first surface of a security
label a security label number, the name of the recipient of the
gift card, and the value of the gift; c) adhering the other surface
of said security label on said gift card; d) manually imprinting on
a gift register the date of issuance, a security label number and
the value of the gift; and e) after a recipient of the gift card
has a transaction with a value less than the value imprinted upon
the first mentioned security label, a second security label is
imprinted with the remaining value of the gift; and the second
label is permanently adhered over the first mentioned security
label.
7. The method for the issuance of gift cards in accordance with
claim 6 including the step of imprinting in a register the date and
value of the partial redemption and the remaining value imprinted
upon the second security label.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to gift cards and, more particularly,
to a gift card system which is readily operated by manual entries
on various components of the system.
Over the years, businesses have issued gift certificates to
customers which are then provided to other persons for redemption
by the purchase of merchandise from the issuing store. In recent
years, electronic gift cards have been valued by swiping of the
pertinent information into a computer system from the magnetic
strip and/or bar code on the gift card, and this has been
particularly the case with respect to issuers with multiple store
locations since the data is then available in a central file.
Partial redemption of a gift certificate or card remains a problem
and various techniques have been employed in an effort to
accommodate the situation of a partial redemption and to avoid the
dispensing of cash representing the difference between the partial
redemption and the total value of the certificate. In some
instances, this has involved the issuance of a new certificate or
entries entered manually on the original gift certificate or card
to reflect the reduction in value.
The manual imprinting of certificates has generally required
separate manual recording of information in a record book with the
potential for error and use of time for double entry of the
information when the sales person may have customers waiting for
other transactions.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel manual
gift card system which is simple and enables relatively rapid
generation of a gift card.
It is also an object to provide such a system which uses relatively
economical components.
Another object is to provide such a system which enables simple
generation of a certificate reflecting the balance on the gift
following partial redemption.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It has now been found that the foregoing and related objects and
advantages may be readily attained in a gift card system which
includes a gift car imprinted with indicia identifying the issuer,
and an adhesively coated security label permanently adhered to the
card and manually imprinted on one surface with the value of the
gift. A gift record is used to manually record information
concerning the gift including the date of issuance and the value
thereof.
A multiplicity of security labels have a reverse surface releasably
mounted on one surface of a substrate. A recording sheet providing
the gift record is provided behind the substrate and the opposite
surface of the substrate and the face of the recording sheet have
cooperating interactive coatings thereon to effect the imprinting
of the register. The security label has security indicia imprinted
thereon.
A second security label may be substantially permanently adhered on
the first mentioned security label and imprinted with a reduced
value to reflect a partial charge against the value on the first
mentioned security label.
The gift record may include a ledger in which issuance of gift
cards and redemption thereof are recorded. The security labels are
paper with an adhesive coating on the rear surface thereof.
The card is fabricated from synthetic resin. The security labels
may be readily peeled from the substrate.
The gift card issuance includes the steps of providing a gift card
imprinted with indicia identifying the issuer, recording on a first
surface of a security label the value of the gift. The other
surface of the security label is adhered to the gift card. The date
of issuance and the value of the gift are simultaneously recorded
on a gift record.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an illustration of the several components of a gift card
program embodying the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of a security label sheet
comprising a substrate upon which are releasably adhered a
multiplicity of security labels, and a recording sheet;
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view thereof along the line 3--3
of FIG. 4;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view thereof showing the individual labels
on a substrate, and a recording sheet, a single certificate being
shown in a removed position;
FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the gift card and security label
prior to its mounting on the gift card;
FIG. 6 is a plan view of a gift card with a security label being
mounted thereon;
FIG. 7 is a similar view with a second security label being applied
over the first label to reflect the reduced value of the card
following partial redemption;
FIG. 8 is a fragmentary plan view of a sheet from a gift
certificate register with information imprinted thereon to reflect
two entries; and
FIG. 9 is a fragmentary plan view of a gift certificate summary
sheet with information imprinted thereon.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT
Turning first to FIG. 1 of the attached drawings, the principal
components of the gift card system of the present invention are
illustrated therein as comprising a gift card generally designated
by the numeral 10, a sheet or substrate 11 on which are adhered a
multiplicity of security labels generally designated by the numeral
12, and a gift certificate record book generally designated by the
numeral 14. Behind the security labels 12 is a substrate 11 and a
recording sheet 13. Also shown is a poster 16 to provide the sale
of the gift cards.
FIG. 2 fragmentarily shows a substrate or release paper-sheet 11 on
which one releasably adhered security labels 12 by a coating of
adhesive (not shown) on the reverse side of the labels 12. FIG. 3
is a fragmentarily sectional view along the line 3--3 of FIG. 2
with a label 12 being pulled from the substrate 11 and also showing
the recording sheet 13.
The rear surface of the substrate 13 has a coating (not shown)
which reacts with a coating (not shown) on the recording sheet 13
when microcapsules are ruptured by the pressure of the writing
element to reproduce the indicia being entered onto the label 12 on
the recording sheet 13.
FIG. 4 shows the assembly of recording sheet 13, substrate 11 and
security labels 12 which are generally provided as a set as
illustrated. The recording sheet 13 is conveniently imprinted with
border lines 22 cooperatively dimensioned with respect to the
security labels to provide a clear separation of the information
which will be imprinted thereon and corresponding to the entries on
the corresponding security label 12. These will include the entries
concerning date and value (and a check in the box for partial
redemption when a new security label is to be affixed to the card),
the imprinted security label 12 is peeled from the substrate 11 as
seen in FIGS. 4 and 5 and affixed to the card 10 as seen in FIG. 6.
If the security label 12b is to reflect a partial redemption, it is
affixed over the original security label 12a as seen in FIG. 7.
Turning next to the record book 14, it includes a multiplicity of
certificate record pages 24 shown in FIG. 8, and the pages with a
multiplicity of lines 26 defining columns and rows. The specific
information to be recorded and the order can vary depending upon
the desires of the program user. In the illustration of FIG. 8, the
date of issuance, the certificate number and value of the
certificate have been entered in the first row. Also entered is an
entry as to the shift and the number 01 to reflect the issue of
only one certificate on that date.
The second row reflects an entry of information concerning a
partial redemption of the gift certificate on Feb. 5, 2004 for the
amount of $75 which will result in the issuance of a second
security label in the amount of the balance of $25. The rightmost
column recaps the value of outstanding gift certificates.
FIG. 9 shows a monthly summary sheet 28 for the value of gift
certificates issued and the value of certificates redeemed. It also
shows the value of certificates issued by the several
salespersons.
The steps involved in the issuance of the card or in partial
redemption are quickly and easily performed by any sales person.
The information on the recording sheets 15 may be entered onto the
record pages 24 by other personnel. A running account of the gift
value outstanding may be kept by the entries on the certificate
record pages 24 and monthly summary sheets 28.
The card is conveniently made of synthetic resin such as
polyethylene or polypropylene. Although both the information
concerning the issuer and the security label could be on the same
side, generally it is preferable to imprint the issuer
identification and marketing information on the front surface and
to affix the security label to the rear surface as indicated in
FIG. 5.
The security label is conveniently provided by paper stock
imprinted on its front face with appropriate legends and ideally
with security elements such as bar code, holographic image, etc.
The label may also provide for authentication and other entries.
The rear surface of the label is coated with a pressure sensitive
adhesive which will bond to the surface of the card. Adhesion of
the label to the card may be improved by surface treatment of the
card, if so desired. The adhesive should also bond securely to the
surface of an underlying label in the instance of a partial
redemption.
The substrate is conveniently a paper stock provided on the front
surface with a release coating to facilitate the removal of the
security labels. The rear surface is coated with the first part of
a reactive ink formulation.
The recording sheet is conveniently provided by a paper sheet
imprinted with box-like images as seen in FIG. 4, and it may also
duplicate all of the printed indicia on the security label. The
front surface is coated with the second part of the reactive ink
formulation. Thus, when the clerk enters the data on the security
label, the pressure of the ball point pen or the like ruptures the
microcapsules of one part of the reactive formulation to release an
agent which reacts with the other part of the reactive formulation
to replicate the data entered onto the recording sheet.
Although the gift cards are illustrated as having been imprinted
with a monetary value, the value may be for services such as
hairdressings or dry cleaning, or merchandise such as food items.
The term "value" as used herein is intended to be generic to
currency services and merchandise.
The gift cards may be displayed only since they have no value until
provided with the security label, completed and authenticated.
Thus, it can be seen from the foregoing detailed specification and
attached drawings that the manual gift card system of the present
invention utilizes components which are relatively economical and
which enable facile and rapid entry of the data reflecting the
gift. Moreover, the manual entry of the information on the label to
be affixed to the card simultaneously reproduces the information on
a record sheet. Accordingly, entry of the data into ledgers or the
like can be performed by personnel other than the sales clerk by
personnel who are under less pressure.
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